The new divide

If, as I've written before, the definitions of "Republican, Democrat, left and right" have broken down, where are the fault lines in our social conversation?

I suspect it's between local and long-distance governance. The reason so many people feel helpless in the face of abuses like TSA screening and eminent domain is that it's a faceless foreign entity suddenly intruding into their life. This is a result of many factions over many years consolidating central power in the machinery of D.C. so they could then try to use that power to enforce their particular vision across the land.

But in governance, one size rarely fits all.

That was the genius of federalism--a concept that's all but dead in the United States. Truly responsive, accountable government thrives best close to home. Sovereignty begins with the individual, extends through the family to the community, and thence on from there. States, cities, towns, communities and families are more than capable of the majority of governance required for a peaceable, functional society. Working with family, friends and neighbors is far easier than appealing to a stranger half a continent away. We simply don't need to make a Federal issue out of many problems. You want diversity? Allow States and localities to experiment and set priorities according to their OWN goals. See what happens.

That is unacceptable to the bureaucratic overlords on the Potomac, however. They have inverted the flow of sovereignty, so it allegedly flows from Pennsylvania Avenue to the satrapies in the 50 state capitals, to the state and local party machinery, and then, if you're lucky, you might get a say in the execution of a few small details.

This is freedom?

In the 1980s and 1990s, "downsizing" was the mantra. Overly large, sclerotic organizations and businesses scaled and pared themselves down. But despite the promises of 1994's "Contract with America," Washington D.C. bucked the trend and continued to grow. It's long past time to downsize Leviathan and put it back on a leash. Downsizing was often praised for focusing the company on its "core tasks." Uncle Sam really only has two: maintaining the free trade zone among the 50 States by managing the coinage and commerce standards; and defending the common border of those 50 sovereign States. Problem is, he tries to do far too much in the first area, and not nearly enough in the second.

Let the "focus on core processes" begin...